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On Aug 13, 2015, I wrote in my blog and posted on Facebook that
I officially "Threw in the Towel".
After 6 years of running my towel business and not being able to take it
where I wanted it to go, I decided to close that chapter in my life. Owning and creating ShowNo was a blessing, but
at times it felt like a curse. I saw
some tremendous accomplishments, for which I was very proud, but I also
experienced some failures that crushed me.
After 6 years of being on a roller coaster with no predictable course, I
decided it was best to get off. That
moment in time, for me, was met with relief but I also felt a lot of
sorrow. A business, to someone who has
loved it, nurtured it and built it from the ground up, almost feels like a
child. When it ends, as much as it's
necessary, there is still a loss and still a sense of... "Did I do
everything I could? People wrote to me
and said, "Shelly, why are you quitting?" "Don't quit" and that was hard for
me because I'm someone who doesn't believe in quitting. I didn't see it as quitting, rather, closing
one chapter to begin another. I felt
strongly that I had given it all I had and that perhaps this business didn't
come to make me rich, but maybe it came to teach me and point me in another
direction. At the time, my logical
thinking brain told me that I had turned over every stone I could, and it just
wasn't meant to be. It was time to move
on.

My heart sent a different message. It reminded me that there was indeed one more
stone to overturn and that I KNEW exactly what it was. It told me that it was time to close the
business and heal, but it also told me that one day there may come a time to
get back to work and turn over that final stone.

On March 20, 2018, I did just that when I announced that I
was making towels again. I spent the
previous three years healing and sorting things out. It was an important time for me because it's
when I began to see that a "failure" isn't necessarily bad or
something to be ashamed of. Our
"failures" teach us great lessons.
Perhaps even more than our wins...?? The suffering we experience because
of a "failure" breaks us open to new possibilities and new
insight. When you realize that a
"failure" can teach you some of life's most important lessons, then
it becomes an asset, as opposed to a liability.

The final stone I hadn't turned was making the purpose of my
towel to assist individuals, kids and adults, with disabilities. The need hadn't originally occurred to me
because I didn't have anyone with special needs in my family but when my Shark
Tank episode aired, I heard from many people who told me that this towel would
be perfect for their son or daughter in a wheelchair. I heard from a mom who asked me if I could
make a big one for her 23 year old son with cerebral palsy. She told that it took 3 towels to cover and
dry him properly (lining his wheelchair) and that the process was humiliating
for him as well. I didn't make big
towels at the time, but I went and bought a big towel, made it for her special,
and sent it off. I had a preschool
teacher reach out to ask if I would donate a few to her special needs
classroom. I asked her how many children
she had and she replied 15. I told her
that I would gladly send one to every child in her class and all that I would
like in return is a picture.

My heart filled with this new purpose! Maybe this is what my towel was really
for?? I remember being excited to share
this new revelation with my "Shark partner" Lori Greiner. She told me that it wasn't a big enough
market. It would be a waste of time and
not an avenue that she would want to purse.
At the time, I hung on her every word.
I was afraid to "do anything wrong" or against her wishes so I
walked away from the idea without pursuing.

When I quit my job in Sept 2017 and needed to bring in some
additional income, the thought to reignite ShowNo began to brew. I was reminded about not following my heart
in regards to the special needs towel. I
did some research and found out that there is definitely still a need and so I
have re-launched my business with the purpose and intention to provide a useful
product to aid the disabled and the elderly.
I have no idea how to really market to this demographic (and am open to
any suggestions ;)) but that's my focus.
This time around, I am only
listening to my heart. I don't care that
there might not be a lot of money to be made in this space. I don't care that it might not be a HUGE
market. What I care about is having a
product that is helpful to those who struggle.
What I care about is filling a need for these individuals that does not
exist. To bring them a product to make
their lives just a little bit easier. To
bring dignity to people who have to be bathed by others so they don't have to
be exposed while they are being dried.
My intention is to be of service and that's it. If I'm able to fulfill that purpose ... only
time will tell. The best that I can do,
is follow my heart in faith.

I'll never forget the day I took my kids for a swim at our
local pool in Ladera Ranch, Ca. I had
been sick for several days and still wasn't feeling well. I was a bit on the
grumpy side... When the boys were done
swimming and wanted to go home, my oldest son Max asked me [...]

All of us have had
experiences in our life when we felt cheated, betrayed, let down, taken
advantage of, lied to, etc. It’s not a good feeling. It hurts. Our knee jerk reaction is to hurt back. We
live the story over and over in our heads and it gets bigger and we become more
upset. We share [...]

Two weeks ago I lost my mail key. It was on a clip on my key chain and twice
previously I had seen the clip open and the key fall off. My intuition told me several times to take
the key off the clip and put it on the ring with the other keys or [...]

There is something exhilarating about the start of a new
year. It symbolizes a fresh start, a clean slate. It’s a time of reflection. What
changes do I need to make this year to live my best life? I am someone who
really embraces the start of a new year and is excited about the possibilities
that the year [...]

I
was always told growing up that I was a good story teller (a trait I inherited
from my Grandpa Joe). In my college sorority I was voted “Best Story Teller”
every single year. I look back at those times and those stories and they were
full of love and humor and joy. They reflected my life. My “story” [...]

We hear all
the time how breakfast is the most important meal of the day and that eating a
good breakfast is essential to starting your day off right. I agree, but in my opinion, starting your day
off right is a decision you make before you even consider what to eat for
breakfast. To me, “starting [...]

If you have read my blog before you know I am a HUGE Oprah
fan. She has been a mentor to me since I
was 14 years old. I have learned so many lessons from her like, “What you focus
on grows. Focus on the goodness in your
life”“Dream your biggest dream. The universe has an [...]

If
there is something that you want, would you get it quicker if you asked for it
or if you kept silent? Obviously the answer is to ask, correct? We know this,
but so often we keep our hopes, desires and dreams to ourselves. We are afraid
to ask. Afraid of judgment from others. Afraid of looking foolish. Afraid [...]

It’s February 10,2013
and my Shark Tank episode aired one year ago today. What a year it has been! I will never forget
waking my kids up for school that day and telling them “our lives are going to
change today”. I really believed that. I thought that all the worries I had before
my TV [...]